New Familiarities
by muse-in-waiting
Summary: Years after their fist mission, the League is called again. They must investigate a breakin at a secret government facility. They are only sure of one detail. This band is like only one thing the League has seen-itself. Some swearing and violence later.
1. Prologue

I saw this movie a few months ago and have had this idea in my head since. I'm not really sure where this will go. Enjoy.

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><p>A lab factory works late into a clear night. The murmurs of people and the rumble of machinery are the only noises heard from the building. Birds rest quietly in trees around the building. An owl's hoot is heard. The sky above is twinkled with hundreds of stars, all seen clearly in the new moon sky. Everything's peaceful.<p>

Suddenly sirens begin to screech. Animals flee in a panic. The lights in the building flash as the power begins to fail. Shouts of concern are heard everywhere as people try to get a handle on the situation. Five figures run out the building. They don't seem in a panic as much as nervous. The shadows casted by the lights make them hard to make each other out.

"That all?" says one in a deep voice. They're the only one who can be picked out from the rest, being the biggest and tallest of the five. They are carrying two suitcases, the only bags the group have near them.

"I think so," another responds, clutching something closely beneath a dark coat. It is a container made of strong glass, which is held with much care.

"It better be," a third adds as they press a button on a control. There is a large blast as a portion of the lab is blown off, some of the debris almost hitting the group. Flames erupt from the building from every angle. Screams of fear and dismay are heard from inside as many are engulfed by the fire. The figures watch in awe as the shadows of the area grow darker as another voice grows silent. The remote is casually fed to a fire seen in one of the nearby windows.

"I-I think it would be a good idea to get out of here," stutters a nervous voice, looking around. There were no other living creatures around since all the animals fled, leaving the trees around them in a frightening state of darkness and quiet.

"Leave dat to may," the fifth responds with a mischievous smile. The group runs off into the shadows as the flames glow brightly against the darkness of the cold night.


	2. The League is Set

I know the last chapter was short but hey it's a prologue. I'll try to keep the other chapters longer.

Disclaimer: I don't own the League or any of their members. If I did, I'd be rich. But I don't, so you'll get nothing if you sue me.

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><p>Dr. Henry Jekyll, Tom Sawyer, and Rodney Skinner were in the Nautilus waiting for the rest of the League so they could find out the details of their next assignment. Jekyll was in his black formal suit, the kind he had been wearing since the League first banded together, while Skinner was wearing his large brown overcoat and boots: his face hidden by white greasepaint, sunglasses, and a hat. Tom was wearing a white cotton shirt, freshly pressed for the occasion of meeting a new client, and gray pants with black suspenders that he let hang down at his waist. Each of them had packed what they thought they would need in case there was a problem: Jekyll had his potion, Skinner a vial of water and a makeup case to help change from seen to unseen more easily, and Tom was polishing both of his pistols, which were fully loaded and each with its own set of reloads. He moved his blond hair out the way every once in a while. It had been a few years since they had defeated Moriarty. Not all the wounds from that battle had healed yet. They hadn't even tried to replace their lost teammates.<p>

Lately, they had been doing investigative work for any strange occurrences for various different groups, from singular individuals to large government groups. Everyone looked anxious. This was not only a first time client but also one with no records to be found anywhere. They only knew that it was a company called **The Wave**.

"Hope we get a good one this time," Skinner said with slight annoyance in his voice. "Not expectin' another War-of-the-Worlds, but still."

"I'm just glad we're going to be getting to go outside. The Nautilus is nice and all but it'll feel good to walk under the open sky again." Tom replied, closing his eyes to enjoy the mental picture. He had been working on and off for the United States Secret Service since he officially joined the League.

Jekyll took another look at his pocket watch. Eleven thirty, about ten minutes since the crew had spotted the coast. As he put the watch away, Captain Nemo entered the room followed by Mina. Nemo was in his blue captain uniform, which gave him an air of leadership and care, while Mina was in a black dress that went to her ankles with matching walking shoes and her signature red scarf. Her dark mahogany hair was swept up into a loose bun. As Mina and Tom kissed each other hello, Jekyll looked away. Mina and Tom announced that they were together a few months after the League had defeated Moriarty, an announcement received with much enthusiasm.

"We will be surfacing soon," Nemo announced. "Once we land, it will be a short walk to our destination."

There was a slight shake as the Nautilus reached land, one so small that it was barely noticed. The area where they had landed was a secret cove deep enough to allow the Nautilus to get close to the shore.

The League began to gather their things as they walked towards the door. There was a sense of anticipation in the air as filed out of the room. The last one in the room was Jekyll. He was just fixing his auburn hair as best he could when he heard Hyde talking in the back of his head.

_What's the matter, Henry? Jealous?_

"Oh, be quiet," Jekyll snapped back. He knew what Hyde was trying to do. It wasn't going to work this time.

_She could be yours, you know. All you have to do is drink the elixir. _Jekyll could see the smile on Hyde's face in the mirror on the wall to the right of him. Though the mirror was rather big, Hyde still took up most of it. It was one of those crooked smiles that made you flinch whenever you saw it.

"No!" Jekyll exclaimed, afterwards taking a second to compose. "Besides, the two of them are happy together."

_Go on, keep on making excuses_, Hyde said, laughing. _That's the reason you never get anywhere. _

Jekyll was about to respond when their conversation was interrupted. "Are you coming, Jekyll?"

"Yes, I'll be right there." Jekyll replied as he quickly hurried to meet up with the others. There was no need to keep them waiting any longer. He was relieved that the conversation was over, for now.

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><p>With the actual story started, I have one request: PLEASE REVIEW! That's all.<p> 


	3. The Wave

Drakena the Destroyer: Thanks for the review. I'm glad you're enjoying it so far. Here's another chapter for you.

Disclaimer: The League is not mine. It probably never will ever be. Don't sue me; I have nothing.

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><p>It was a sunny day. The Nautilus landed on a rocky beach. As the League walked inland, the landscape became a forest. The trees were covered with so much ivy that some had curtains hanging off their branches.<p>

"Hey, Nemo," Skinner called out, "I hate to be the first one to complain, but when are we going to get to some actual civilization?"

"Soon," replied Nemo in a neutral tone.

"Should hope so," Skinner said. "We've been walking for hours."

"It's only been thirty minutes," Jekyll said, checking his pocket-watch.

"Thanks, doc. I really wanted to know that," Skinner retorted.

Nemo stopped in his tracks. "We're here."

"Great, but where exactly is here?" Tom asked.

"Here," Nemo replied as he pulled back one of the ivy curtains, revealing a large building that was overgrown with ivy. Any metal that could be seen looked brand new. Everyone looked at the building with awe. Skinner gave a low whistle.

As the League approached the building, they were greeted by a young woman who looked like she was in her late twenties. She was wearing a dark red dress, which lay slightly above the ankle, with heels. Her black hair hung down past her shoulders and had a little bit more than a decent amount of make-up covering her pale face.

"Ah, you must be the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen…and women," she said with the same kind of flair that a party hostess would. "I hope you had a pleasant trip. If you will just follow me, I'll show you where you will be starting."

"Well, they certainly know how to make a first impression," Skinner muttered as he watched her walk inside.

The inside of the building was extravagant. The walls were pure white as was the ceiling, from which hung chandeliers. Marble columns had been placed about the room in a way that was both functional and fashionable. Around the room, people either were busy typing at desks or trying to get to their next destination as quickly as possible. Nemo was the first to speak.

"Umm… excuse me, Ms…"

"Crawford," the woman replied."But you can call be Roselinda if it makes you feel more comfortable."

"A beautiful name," Skinner commented.

Roselinda looked over at him and gave her eyes a bat.

"Why, thank you."

While the other members of the League exchanged looks, Nemo cleared his throat.

"Yes, Ms. Crawford, what is it that this establishment does?" Nemo inquired.

"**The Wave** is a science research and development facility that works on finding the technology of the future." Roselinda explained as the group walked down a hallway. "There are many specialists here, from engineers to scientists. Ahh, here we are."

They had stopped in front of a large pair of double doors made of solid oak.

"This is where your investigation starts. Behind these doors is where we keep track of everything," The doors screeched as she pushed them open. "Or at least used to."

From what was left, the room had used to be a large library. The ceiling had been blown off. Everything else was either burnt or covered in soot. The League looked around in disbelief. Mina reached toward a book to pick it up. It disintegrated as soon as she touched it.

"What happened?" Tom asked.

"About six months ago, we were infiltrated by a small group. All we know is that they knew enough to blow up three of our facilities and," Roselinda said as she gestured around, "the file room."

"This is where we kept all the information of our experiments," she continued, looking around with a sad expression. "Since everything was destroyed, there is no way of knowing if they took anything with them when they left."

"Was anyone hurt?" Jekyll asked. He had a look of shock on his face as he looked over what was left of the shelves.

"Unfortunately, many of the employees that were working that night died."

"I do not wish to sound insincere," Nemo interjected, "but what does this have to do with us?"

"Yes, don't you have guards that could be doing this?" added in Mina.

"Our guards are top of the line, with armor and weapons that haven't even been shown to the rest of the world yet," Roselinda barked back, her eyes wettening as she spoke, "and yet they were torn through like tissue paper. If that isn't bad enough, two men said they were beaten up by nothing." The League looked at each other with looks of knowing and shock. Skinner walked over to Roselinda and took her hand.

"Don't worry, luv. We'll find out what's goin' on," he consoled.

"Thank you," she responded, wiping the tears from her eyes. "Thank you so much." She gave his hand a quick squeeze before walking toward the door. Before leaving, she turned toward the League.

"If you need anything, just call and someone will be with you momentarily," was all she added before leaving the room.


	4. News of the Flames

Disclaimer: Blah, blah, League belongs to other people, blah, blah, blah. Enjoy.

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><p>The League stood there what seemed like ages. No one had an idea of what to say. The silence was finally broken by Tom.<p>

"Well, we better get started."

"Indeed," Nemo responded while stroking his beard in a thoughtful manner. "We must discover whoever it is that broke into this establishment quickly."

"You don't suppose…" Skinner started before trailing off. They all knew what he meant.

"No, he was dead, I'm sure of it," Jekyll sparked. "The bullet went straight into his brain."

"There must be some explanation for all this," Mina said. "Since when are well armed men 'torn through like tissue paper.'"

"'…Beaten up by nothing,'" Skinner muttered.

"We won't get anywhere if we just stand around," prompted Tom.

"He's right," Nemo agreed. "We need a plan."

"I could talk to the guards that survived," Jekyll suggested, "They may have seen something that can help."

"I'll go poking around and find out if there's anything else we should know," piped in Skinner as he removed his hat.

"The rest of us should look around the bomb sites," Mina added.

"Then it's settled," Nemo concluded. "We'll meet back here in one hour."

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><p>Nemo was being lead down a hall by one of the workers. When the man stopped, they were in front of where a large door used to be.<p>

"This is where you wanted to go," the man said, "the engineering room."

The door had obviously been blown off by the explosion. The room inside looked even worse than the file room. Parts of the walls were completely gone. Everything was burnt. Corpses of machinery could be seen throughout the room. They were so mangled that it was hard to tell what they used to be.

Nemo stood in the center of the room. As he looked around, he couldn't help but feel a certain sadness. Walking forward slightly, a small light hit his eye. Upon investigation, Nemo discovered the light had come from a sheet of metal plate with wires attached to it that was on its own.

"Fascinating," Nemo said as he picked up the plate. On the other side of it was an insignia of a sun. Looking the plate over, he wondered if the others were having any luck.

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><p>Meanwhile, Mina picked up a similar metal plate. Standing up, she looked around the room again. The room had formerly been a greenhouse. The glass had been shattered from the ceiling and walls. The sun's rays couldn't make the mood any happier, though they were trying. The only things inside were ash from the plants.<p>

"This used to be my favorite room." Mina heard a voice say behind her. Turning around, she saw it was Roselinda. Roselinda had a lost expression on her face, as though she was in another place. "The trees here would go all the way past the ceiling"

"What was worked on in here?" Mina inquired. "Was there any particular plant being grown?"

"All of our plants were grown in here," explained Roselinda, "They were mostly hybrids."

"What plant was growing here?" Mina asked, motioning toward where she had picked up the metal plate.

"A few experimental plants, from more nutritious fruits to those with more," Roselinda stopped for a moment to find the right word, "military purposes."

"Really, explain."

"I'm afraid that's classified," Roselinda said. "If you'll excuse me, there are other places I have to be."

As Roselinda left, Mina looked back at where she had found the plate. After thinking for a while, she began wonder if the rest of the team had found anything.

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><p>Tom had no idea what he was looking at. As he examined the thing more, he tapped on the glass containing it. As Tom looked around the room, he could see many containers like the one. The glass was obviously been very strong. The explosion had vaporized everything else in the room, yet the glass had only cracked. That didn't keep the creatures, as he assumed they were, from being cooked alive.<p>

"This is where we did all of our biological research," his guide explained. "Always was some creepy stuff in here."

"Really?" Tom replied in a half sarcastic tone. He couldn't believe these things could be any weirder than they were now.

"Yeap, ya see they always kept this place half dark so you couldn't see what they were doing," the man explained. "Didn't keep you from hearing the…whatever-they-weres."

As Tom walked over to examine something in one of the other containers, he heard something in the corner of the room. Looking to see if his guide was watching, Tom walked over.

"Skinner, is that you?"

"Who else did you expect?" a voice joked in reply.

"What are you doing here?"

"I thought you'd like to hear what I just heard." Skinner lowered his voice. "Some workers were talking; seemed ta think that it was an inside job."

"People tend to say things at times like this," Tom replied, "but we'll have to see what the others have to say before we decide how useful it is."

"If that's all the thanks I get, guess I won't show you this!"

The American found himself whapped in the nose by a burnt piece of paper. Wondering how Skinner had hidden anything without his clothes on, Tom snatched the parchment out of the seemingly empty air.

"Quit that! What is this anyway?"

"I think it's a letter. Can't tell ya what it says, too scorched."

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><p>"I'll tell ya, it was crazy," one of the guards said.<p>

Jekyll had been talking to two of the survivors for half an hour now under the guise that he was making sure their wounds were doing fine. The guards had been severely hurt. One had lost half an arm while the other had had his head busted open. Jekyll still hadn't learned much about what had happened.

"What else do you remember?" Jekyll asked as he put a gauze onto one of the men's heads.

"There was this one time where I walked into the room and wahoom," the man made a fist and quickly moved it toward his stomach "You remember, Bert?"

"Yeah, out of nowhere" Bert added, "literally."

"Finally," Jekyll muttered.

"What's that?"

"Oh, uh, the bleeding has stopped," Jekyll staggered. "Go on."

"Well, like Lou here said, we entered this one room to do a checkup…"

"There was nothin' there," Lou interrupted.

"Right, when suddenly," Bert continued, "I get this blow to my stomach.

"I see him fall and I start toward him when I get hit at my groin."

Jekyll tried to put as much as he could into his memory as he began to wrap Lou's head. Even though Jekyll had done this many times, he nearly dropped the bandage roll when he heard what was said next.

"Then that big thing walked in, easily twice your height," Lou emphasized.

"I see it and pick up my gun," Bert chimed in. "He sees me, grabs my arm and… well…"

Jekyll could tell what was meant without Bert gesturing towards his arm stub.

"By this time I had recovered, so I got a good distance away, aimed my gun at, then," Lou pointed at his head dramatically, "black out."

"Well, it looks like that should do it," Jekyll stated as he finished putting the bandage in place.

"Thanks, Doc," Lou exclaimed.

Jekyll figured that he had learned everything he could. It was time for him to start heading back anyway. While he gathered up his medical supplies, the guards continued to talk.

"Wow, the doc did a great job on your head," Bert told Lou.

"Great, I'd hate to get a scar like that thing had," Lou replied, tracing his finger from his forehead, passed his nose, and ending at the outside corner of his right eye.

"There's no way you would get a scar like that," Bert laughed, "It was glowing white."

Jekyll took on last look back toward the guards before leaving the room. He pondered about what he had heard as he walked down toward the file room.

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><p>The rest of the League was talking about what they had found out when Nemo walked into the file room. Everyone looked as though they had just arrived a little while ago except for Skinner, who was as fully dressed as he was when the League had first entered the room.<p>

"Glowing white," Skinner was saying, "that ain't normal."

"Well, I think I found a way to identify our intruders," Nemo interjected, passing the metal plate he had found toward his team mates.

"I found something similar in the room I was in," Mina said as she took out her plate.

"As I thought," Nemo concluded, "these were part of the bombs."

"So what is the picture for?" Tom asked.

"I believe it is an insignia for the maker."

"Why would someone put their mark on a bomb?" Jekyll inquired.

"Overlooked it, didn't care, pride…" Skinner started to ramble off.

"We get it Skinner," Mina interrupted.

"Whatever the reason," Tom said, "it's our only clue."

"Well, that and this letter," Skinner corrected. The invisible man pulled the parchment out of his pocket.

"Let me have a look," Nemo insisted as he takes the paper. "I believe I can make out the word port. I may have a method back at the ship to figure out the rest."

"Looks like we have our destination," Tom declared.

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><p>Next chapter is long; it's where the action starts, so that should make up for it. Please review.<p> 


	5. The Other Team

Before we start, Happy New Year! Enjoy.

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><p>A week later, the League was in a small town in Spain. After much investigative work, they were able to pinpoint a port nearby as the one mentioned in the letter.<p>

The League was scattered around town, learning anything they could. Nemo was dressed out of his captain's uniform, in a simple sailor suit. He couldn't wait to get back to his ship. The town was a mile or so inland so the Nautilus had to be left in the hands of his new first mate at the southern coast of Spain.

Nemo looked over the fruit stand in front of him. There were many different types: citrus fruits, grapes, figs, peaches, among others. The woman in charge watched him with anticipation. She spoke with a thick native accent.

"Is there anything in particular that you are looking for?" the woman said in Spanish.

"No, the captain wants to restock fruit for about six months." Nemo replied in the same language, "It should be a total of thirty crates."

The woman's eyes began to brighten. "I'll start packing your order right away!" she exclaimed, "Two big orders in one day, what are the chances."

"Excuse me," Nemo inquired, "did another ship come in earlier?"

"I didn't think one had come in but I got an order for ten crates of various fruits," the woman replied without looking up from her work, "I think they were going over the hill to the North."

"Is there anything over there?"

"Just remains of an old village, a couple collapsed houses and a weathered down church."

"I see…" Nemo pondered. "I'll make sure someone comes by to pick up the fruit."

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><p>"Well, there's the village," Mina stated.<p>

The League was now at the top of the hill, looking down at the ruins of a small village. The few houses that were still standing looked as though they could collapse any moment. The only building that looked stable was the church in the center of the town. As they got closer, the decay of the buildings became clearer. The shadows casted by the afternoon sun only made the area more depressing looking.

"Cheerful place ain't it," Skinner remarked sarcastically, wrapping his coat tighter to protect himself from the wind. He was glad he had put on his black shirt and pants before going on this expedition. His glasses reflected the gloom and darkness around him.

Before anyone could answer, the snap of a twig was heard. All eyes quickly turned toward the church to see something just go through the door. They silently confirm their next move with a glance toward each other. The League slowly approached the church. Tom got his shotgun ready.

The inside of the church was more uplifting. Except for the center of the roof, some parts of the walls, and a few shattered stained-glass windows, the structure was completely intact. Only the first two rows of pews were still standing. Above, a second floor of seats circled around the back and sides of the church. The corners of wall between the seats were large tapestries. The front was the altar. Two doors stood on either side of it. A woman in her thirties sat in the pew in the first row closest to the center aisle on the left side.

The woman didn't seem to notice them walk in. She simply sat quietly, lost in thought. The woman wore a simple blue country dress, her hair wrapped in a light brown bandana.

The League moved cautiously toward her. They all froze when the woman stood up. A wind blew the bandana to the center of the aisle. The woman's flats made no noise as she walked over to it up. As she began to pick up her headpiece, the woman finally noticed the other people in the room.

"Oh," she startled, "I didn't realize anyone came in."

Her dark brown hair had fallen a few inches past her shoulders. Even with it hanging around her face, the woman still looked tan. Her brown eyes studied each member of the League as she tied and tucked her hair back, pausing as she spotted Jekyll, Nemo, and Skinner.

"What brings you here," the woman asked calmly, never taking her eyes off the group.

"We could ask you the same thing," remarked Tom.

"Accusing me of something before even knowing who I am," the woman teased, "where did you learn your manners?"

Tom's face turned an interesting shade of red.

"Perhaps you would do us the honor of giving us your name," Nemo inquired.

The woman gave the request some thought before answering.

"Ms. Keara."

"Don't suppose you have a first name," Skinner questioned with some mock chivalry.

"I'd rather not share that with some strange travelers I only just met in an old abandoned church," she replied, "especially those who seem to be hiding more than others."

Even if he wasn't wearing his greasepaint, Skinner's body language would have given away the slight shock he got from the comment. While the League tried to figure out where the conversation should go, the woman started to occupy herself by fixing little details in his dress: fixing the shoulders, smoothing wrinkles, etc.

"Well then…Ms. Keara, what brings you to a place like this," asked Jekyll in his nervous manner.

"The quiet," Ms. Keara answered without removing her attention from her dress. "There's just something about this place that help you think."

As she smoothed her dress, Ms. Keara noticed her shadow. Startled, she quickly looked up to see where the sun was.

"Oh dear," she muttered, "I'm going to be late."

"Late for what," asked Mina, "Are you going to catch a ship?"

"I'm traveling around with some friends of mine," Ms Keara responded as she had her eyes correct themselves. "We're planning on camping around the area"

"Do you have enough provisions," Nemo asked.

"I'm quite sure we have plenty," Ms. Keara laughed.

"About ten crates worth," Nemo intrigued.

Ms. Keara started to stare suspiciously at Nemo. "What gives you that guess?"

"A merchant that sold me some fruit mentioned another order."

"We plan on traveling around for a while."

"And where is it that you are heading?"

"I don't see what concern that is of yours."

"She says I'm the one who had no manners and then starts exploding at us," Tom snickered. A smirk found its way to Skinner's face.

Ms. Keara eyes became noticeably darker.

"It would be best if you stayed and answered some of our questions," Mina responded, somewhat coldly.

"I have to get going," Ms. Keara said defiantly, "so if you would please let me by."

"That wasn't really a suggestion," Mina growled as her eyes turned red. She lunged toward Ms. Keara to try and prevent her from running off.

At this, Ms. Keara stepped to the side and let Mina tumble on the steps that led to altar. While Mina tried to catch her balance, Ms. Keara ran towards the rest of the League, all of whom but Jekyll were prepared for a fight. As Tom took aim, Ms. Keara grabbed Skinner's coat from the ground. Nemo swung his sword towards her only to find his head covered by the coat as she flipped over him. As Ms. Keara started off again, she tripped. This caused Tom's shot to just barely missed, grazing Ms. Keara's left arm. Ms. Keara spun around Tom, preventing him from taking another shot. After brushing by Jekyll, Ms. Keara quickly climbed up one of the tapestries. By the time she got into the upper seating area in the back of the church, Nemo had gotten free and Mina had regained her composure and rejoined her teammates underneath the seating area Ms. Keara was currently occupying.

"Could you have been any more helpful," Tom remarked.

"I didn't have enough time to figure out what was happening," Jekyll remarked.

"Man, she moves fast," panted Skinner's voice.

Ms. Keara seemed to be catching her breath as well. Suddenly, she looked toward the front of the church and relaxed when she saw who it was.

"Hey, yous still…" a voice entered with a very thick African accent. The League turned to see a young man entering from one of the doors by the altar. He was dark-skinned and wore a beige adventuring outfit with boots that rose slightly above his calves. His matching tri-corner hat kept his almost pure black hair half hidden, which fell in ringlets halfway down his neck. The man's face was disciplined, even his brown eyes never gave anything away anything. In his right hand, he held a Winchester rifle. Tom couldn't help but feel that there was something familiar about this man.

"Well," the man sighed, "dat 'plains whah you're late."

"Yeah," Ms. Keara replied, "sorry about that El."

"What's she doing, what's she doing," a voice exclaimed. A young woman ran into the room. Her long blond hair flowed behind her, her blue eyes open as wide as they could get. Unlike El's face, her face showed every emotion clearer than crystal.

"Aw," the woman complained, "she gets all the fun."

Although she was in her early twenties, the woman's dress had a ruffled apron in the front that made her looked much younger. It didn't help that she was wearing black ballet flats. She also wore a large white overcoat. The dress however…

"It looks like a rainbow throw up on you," Skinner blurted. In fact, the dress, even the apron, was splattered with every color that had ever existed and beyond.

"Thanks," the woman chimed. "Wait… who said that."

_Henry…_

"Shh," Jekyll thought back quickly. Now was **not** the time to start that conversation.

"They wished to ask some questions," Ms. Keara explained as she fiddled around with a locket that lay in her hand. When she opened it, a small sigh escaped her lips.

"I feel we are beginning to outstay our welcome," Nemo stated, "so we shall be going."

Some loud thuds were heard from the way the League had come from. As Nemo started towards the hallway, he bumped into a man a few feet taller. Nemo walked away to get a better look at the newcomer. The man was wearing a large black hooded overcoat that almost covered his large black boots. When he put his hood down, his face was a horrific sight. His skin had a yellowish hue. A glowing, crescent-shaped scar wrapped around his right eye.

"Plaze stay," El insisted, "we have some questions also."

_Henry, the elixir…_

"We would love to but…" Tom started as he reached for his pistols. In a slight panic, he looked down to find that one of them was missing. A whistle came from above their heads. The League looked up to see Tom's pistol being swung back and forth by the nozzle.

"Missing something," Ms. Keara snickered.

"When did she …" Tom thought out loud. The rest of the League gave each other confused looks.

"She really does get all the fun," the young woman complained.

"Perhaps we should start with de questions," El said with a slight shake of his head.

"Oh, oh," the woman exclaimed, "Pick me, pick me!"

"Yes," El sighed, "Ava…what's your question?"

"Who said the thing about my dress," Ava inquired, twirling her dress.

"The same guy who wears makeup," laughed Ms. Keara. The League looked up again to see Skinner's makeup case. They began to check their belongings.

_Henry, check for the elixir!_

Jekyll quickly felt the pocket inside his jacket. In a state of panic, he looked up to see Ms. Keara uncap the vial. She put the opening to her nose.

"Don't…" Jekyll screamed.

"Why would I want to," Ms. Keara gagged, quickly recorking the vial.

"Enough games," Nemo exclaimed as he drew his sword.

"So much for diplomacy," El sighed before flipping quickly to a very commanding tone.

"Mo, get to Jas," he started.

"On it," Ms. Keara confirmed. She slid down the tapestry closest to her and landed on her feet behind the strange man. Before leaving, she examined the collection baskets. Picking up the best looking one, Ms. Keara put something into it.

"I believe these are yours," Ms. Keara said as she skid the basket under the giant's feet, towards the League. The basket stopped at their feet. Inside were four items: Tom's gun, Skinner's make-up case, Jekyll's vial, and a locket.

The items whose owners were known were returned. Skinner's make-up case was put alongside his coat. Tom picked up the locket and examined it.

"I can't figure how she got this from you," he stated as he handed it over to Mina.

"That's because it's not mine," Mina replied.

"Then whose…" Tom started when Nemo reached over and took the necklace.

"I'll hold on to this," was all Nemo said as he cradled the locket in his hand. After few seconds, he put it around his neck, where it remained hidden under his uniform.

While this was going on, the other three people in the room waited.

"Are you ready yet," Ava asked impatiently.

"We are now" Tom said as Jekyll uncorked his vial.

"Yay," she cheered, "now it's my turn to have some fun."

"Would yous like de first move," El offered.

"Here it is," Jekyll said as he started to undo his tie.

Jekyll's body began to feel like it was on fire. He lunged backwards and let out a scream. No matter how many times the League had seen this, it always surprised them. Everyone else in the room just watched in horror as Jekyll's clothes tore apart as he grew bigger. When it was finally over, what looked like a large gorilla had taken place of where Jekyll had been. When he stood up, he was slightly taller than the man who stopped Nemo earlier.

"You ready, Hyde," Skinner asked, although everyone knew the answer.

"Aren't I always," Hyde chuckled back in such a way that it cause the other group to shrink back in fear.

"Ava, get in de other room" El ordered shakily, "NOW!"

After a few seconds to figure out what was going on, Ava quickly ran back through the door closest to her. Seeing a fun way to start off, Hyde began to run towards the door. The giant immediately charged at Hyde, who saw this just in time to toss the attacker into the altar.

"Adam," El commanded, "boost."

The giant gave quick grunt as he got out of the rubble. After giving his head a shake, he kneeled down and cupped his hands together.

"Boost ready," was all the giant said.

El ran over toward Adam and got tossed up to second level. After a tumble down the upper pews, El ended up just barely grabbing onto the ledge.

"A bit much there, Adam," El gasped.

"Me bad," Adam apologized quickly before turned his attentions back to Hyde. The two then began to throw punches at each other.

"Skinner, you and Tom go after the girl," Nemo directed before joining, "the rest of us will handle these two."

Tom and Mina wish each other luck with a nod. Tom cut through the battle and got to the door. Skinner was already opening the door.

"Right this way, sir," Skinner joked.

As soon as they both had entered, Skinner closed the door. The room was area where the pastors got ready before a mass. The room was entirely sound. There were tables around the walls cluttered with religious items and covered with dust. A large mirror hung on across from the door. In the center of the floor lay a large white coat.

"Well," Tom stated, "we know she's in here somewhere."

Searching around the room, they found nothing. The only sign that she had even been in the room was her coat. Looking down, Tom could make out some footprints in the dust on the floor. They led straight to the mirror.

"Strange," Tom muttered as he peered in. He could see the whole room. The whole room was gray with dust, except for…

Tom quickly turned around and fired at the table to the right of the door. The bullet went straight into woodwork.

"Watch it there Tom," Skinner hollered, "you nearly hit me."

Tom was too puzzled to make a reply. He looked back in the mirror. He was sure he had seen her right by the table. As he inspected the mirror, he was slammed into it. When he finally composed himself, the mirror was shattered and Skinner lay next to him, covered with bloody scratches.

"Sorry, tripped," Skinner explained, although they both knew there was more to it than that.

Things weren't doing much better in the other room. While Nemo and Hyde worked together against Adam, Mina was trying to get to El. She hoped she wouldn't have to do anything more than flying against him. She didn't like using her vampiric abilities unless she absolutely had to. It didn't help that he shot at her when even they were at least ten feet apart. Although she was fast enough to dodge the bullets, this fight would get nowhere unless she got closer. Finally, she was able to land underneath the balcony, where she was out of range, and began to climb her way up.

Below, the wall shook as Hyde was thrown against it. Standing up, he glared back at the battle. Nemo was using his best swordsmanship on this _thing_ and only giving scratches.

"There's no way I'm losing," Hyde roared to himself, "to a SMALL FRY."

This "small fry" was occupied with blocking Nemo's attacks, though he had just pushed Hyde aside. Seizing the chance, Hyde ran towards his distracted opponent and threw a punch at the head. Adam was thrown against the wall on the other side.

The shock caused Mina to slide down a few inches. She could hear El getting nervous above her. As she climbed over a broken section of the upper landing, Mina could see him scanning the room below, trying to spot where she was.

As Mina stood up, some of the ridge broke off and tumbled down to the floor below. Hearing the sound of the rocks, El immediately turned around and looked at her with surprised expression.

Mina pounced towards him. El had only enough time to fire one bullet into her shoulder before being pushed off the ridge. El prepared himself for when he would hit the floor, only to be saved lasted second when he was caught by Adam. After slamming into a wall, Adam unrolled himself to allow El to get back on his feet.

Mina rolled her shoulder in order to estimate how much damage it had received. Afterwards, she jumped down in order to join the other members that were with her in cornering the duo in one of the front corners of the building. Hyde had his crooked smile drawn upon his face.

A second later, Hyde's face was covered with an expression of pain as he covered his ears. Although the other members of the League could hear anything, it seemed that Adam was being bothered by something as well. A small whistle began to go off in El pocket.

"We need to get going, Adam," El told his friend.

"Av…" Adam started.

"Let's hope she'll be behind us," El confronted. "Right now we need to get to de door."

Adam looked back at him at first with a questioning expression, then a smirk spread across his face.

Hyde, who was still half-distracted by whatever sound was in the air, prepared himself for a fight. Adam charged toward Hyde, a battle cry screaming from his throat. Hyde flew backwards and crashed through the pews behind him. Adam stood a few feet away from where he started.

Hyde stood up and wiped the blood from the side of his mouth. He glared back at Adam. A moment later, his eyes were filled with a mixture of fear and pain. Adam started a second charge when Hyde started to change back.

Jekyll had completely changed back in time to see Adam about a foot away, still charging. Jekyll almost forgot the hold up his pants as he braced for the hit. Only a few seconds passed but it seemed like an eternity for Jekyll. Opening on eye, Jekyll saw that Adam had stopped about two steps away.

"Little help would be nice."

Adam turned back towards El. Although El was an excellent shooter, he had been easily overwhelmed in close-combat. He was just barely able to keep up with attacks that were being thrown at him. Nemo swung his sword straight toward the top of the lad's shoulder. This was swatted away in a clumsy manner, though the blow ended up breaking the gun. As Nemo prepared to strike again, a force pushed him into the nearby wall.

Turning around, Nemo looked around the room. Adam had picked Mina up and was now throwing her into a wall the other side of the room. She collapsed on the ground, passed out. Jekyll, who had stood up by this time, ran over to check on her. El was moving, half walking and half limping, toward the front door.

Suddenly, a bullet hit the wall a few inches away from El's head, causing him to pause for a second or two. This had come from Tom's rifle. He, and presumably Skinner, had entered from the other room. Adam backed slightly, joining El by the front entrance.

"We need to get outta here," El said after looking the current situation over.

Within a second of hearing this, Adam hoisted El over his shoulder and ran toward the door. Tom grabbed his pistols and aimed for the giant's legs. Before he could take one shot, a wooden board floated from one of the broken pews hit him in the head, knocking him out. A sound of shock from Skinner was heard on the other side of the room. While Jekyll moved toward Tom, Nemo ran toward the door the other two had exited through.

Nothing had changed much outside. The sun was setting, giving the sky a variety of different shades of oranges and reds. Nemo scanned the area all around him. There was not a single sign of where the people they were just fighting had gone.

With a slight sigh, Nemo walked back inside the church. His companions needed to get back to the Nautilus. They would need the rest.


	6. Nemo's Past

This explains the locket Nemo had in the last chapter. The basic idea for Nemo's history is from Jules Verne, I just added details. It's kinda depressing, so you know.

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><p>Mina and Tom woke up in the ship's infirmary the next morning. The bullet wound in Mina's arm had completely healed. Tom had a bump on his head but it was nothing major. The League spent whatever time they had between healing and trying to deduce the other group's next location.<p>

A few weeks after the battle passed and there was still no clue to where the group may be. It was as though they had disappeared off the face to the Earth.

Nemo paced around his study as the clock nearby toned for three in the morning. He was getting more anxious every day. He had begun to pay more attention to the finding their new enemy than anything else. Until now, only he had been able to perform such a feat. If they had their own… The very thought made him shudder.

His thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. He looked to see Tom in his day clothes, which looked as though they had slept in. His head had gotten better, though there was still a slight bump on the back of his head.

"Ah, Tom," Nemo greeted, "is there anything wrong?"

"Not really," Tom answered as he leaned against the door, "but I was wondering what the story is behind that locket of yours."

Nemo's ears seemed to perk up slightly to this question. He sat down in his desk chair without looking at Tom. He carefully took the locket from around his neck and gazed at it longingly. Then, he turned slowly to face Tom. After thinking over the matter, he clutched the locket firmly in his hand.

"It's hard to believe how long ago it was," Nemo started. "Do you remember the rebellion of India against England?"

"Yeah," Tom confirmed. "It was in newspapers all over the world."

"I was one of the rebellion's generals," Nemo admitted. "At that time, I was known by another name, one respected in high society."

"I had a wife and two beautiful children," Nemo continued. "They were the most valuable treasure I had."

"I had come home from battling one day," Nemo growl as he recalled the memory, "and found the door had been broken open. I ran inside and found the nightmare that awaited me. A group of scoundrels had barraged into my house and prey upon the innocent people inside.

"I immediately ran into my children's bedroom. Puddles of blood lay on the floor. In the middle of the room lay this," Nemo motioned slightly to the locket in his hand, "with a broken chain."

"It was my wife's. She never took it off." He opened the locket. Inside were two portraits, the left one was of a young boy while the other was of a girl a few years younger. "These were my children."

"Blood flooded the floor; most of the servants had been slaughtered. This was the only trace I could find of my family," Nemo proceeded in a depressed tone, in such a way that Tom had thought that his presence in the room had been forgotten. "I assumed the worst…still do."

"I took whoever had survived, built the Nautilus," Nemo finished, looking up at Tom, "and never looked back."

Tom stood in the door and stared back at the broken man before him. He never thought that a man like Nemo would have had something so sad in his history. The moment in the room seemed to hang in the air of the room.

The moment ended when one of the sailors appeared in the door. It was very clear that he had run the whole way.

"Captain," the man was panting, "we have a problem."

.

Nemo and Tom were joined by the rest of the League in the bridge of the Nautilus. They were all looked as though they had quickly thrown on whatever clothes they could find: Mina was wearing a silk robe over her sleepwear, Jekyll's shirt and pants were in folds and creases from getting dressed quickly, and Skinner had simply thrown his coat over himself as he left his room. Some of Nemo's sailors were looking at the radar.

"Whot seems to be the problem," Skinner asked.

"The radar has picked up something behind us," Tom responded, "and it's closing in fast."

"Any idea what it could be," Mina inquired.

"It's metal, underwater, and about the size of a small whale," Nemo returned. "What else could it be but that other group?"

"They can travel underwater," Jekyll concluded. "It explains why we couldn't find out where they were."

"They will be upon us within the half-hour," Nemo calculated.

"Then, we don't have time to just stand around," Mina concluded. "We should be getting ready for when they arrive"

"Let's get started," Tom agreed. He half ran to the door. Before he could grab the knob, it turned and the door opened. In the door way stood a woman in a rainbow dress.

"Hi," she spoke in happy tone, which switched to being disappointed before the greeting stopped bouncing off the walls. "Wait, you're not an exit."

With that, the woman slammed the door shut.

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><p>I'd like to thank awesomeness50 and Drakena the Destroyer for reviewing. I'd like to give both of you copies of Nemo's locket.<p> 


	7. Intruders!

More action coming up. Read, enjoy, and review.

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><p>It took the League a few seconds to figure out what had just happened. Nemo was the first to come to his senses. He brushed past Tom and opened the door as wide as it would let him. By that time, the girl had disappeared.<p>

"How do you think she got on board," Mina asked.

"I'm not sure," Nemo replied angrily, "but I know how she is getting off."

Nemo ran out of the room with the rest of the League right behind them. The race continued for some time. The League sometimes saw the girl running down the corridors while other times they had only the edge of her dress turning corner. Every once in a while, the ship would shake, making their chase more difficult.

The League eventually found themselves back in at the bridge of the Nautilus. The door was still open. Running inside, the League found that the only thing that had changed was the fact that the sailors were in a bit more of a panic.

"Captain," one of the sailors by the radar exclaimed as they saw the group enter, "good timing. They seem to have disappeared."

"What," Nemo pondered out loud as he ran over to look at the radar. Just as the sailor had said, the other ship had disappeared from view.

"Did you see where they went to," Nemo questioned.

"Not really sir," the sailor replied, "one moment they were coming towards us, we get distracted for one second and they're gone."

"What were you distracted by," Mina asked, slightly impatient.

"First, there were some minor things," another one of the sailors responded, "objects falling, the ship shaking, stuff like that. Suddenly, the power starts flickering. Naturally, we start to do what we can to keep it on. A few seconds later, the power is fine but the radar can't pick up the other ship."

"But the power was just fine on the rest of the ship," stated Tom.

In fact, even when the ship shook, the lights in the hallways and corridors hadn't even flicker.

Out of nowhere, laughter began to echo through the room. Although the voice was familiar, its owner could not be placed by either ear or eye.

"Is anyone else creeped out," Skinner asked.

"Oh, come on, don't tell me you belief in ghosts," Mina replied, a bit shaken. "They're just figments of the imagination."

"Yeah," Skinner said back, "but awhile back same could be said for vampires."

The League continued to search about the room as best they could. By chance, Tom glanced at the window in front of the room. The darkness of the water outside allowed the glass to reflect like a mirror. He could see everything behind him: his teammates, the equipment, the table behind him where Nemo places the maps he will need, and almost right next to him was…

Tom immediately spun around to hit the person behind him but found his arm only hitting air. The table fell over, spilling papers all over the floor. The League watched in amazement as some of the papers slid around to make a path to the door, which swung open on its own.

"Is that how it looks when I move about," Skinner voiced in after it was all over.

"Yes, actually," Mina replied before giving Tom a curious look. "How did you do that?"

"I'm not sure," Tom answer.

"Shouldn't we go find out what that was," Jekyll interjected.

"Let's get going," Skinner said, removing his coat as he ran to the door. His teammates lost sight of him as the coat hit the floor.

"Certainly came prepared, didn't he," muttered Tom as the rest of the League hastened through the door.

The League ran until they reached the corridor branched off.

"Anyone like to pick which way to go," Skinner remarked, though breathing heavily from all the running.

This was answered when a large sound echoed from the end of one of the halls. The hall led to the Nautilus' main power room. The men who had been working there were all passed out. There were only three people who were awake in the room: the giant that they had been fighting a few days ago, the shooter who had been with him, and a young woman who the League had not met yet. The shooter had a new rifle in his hand and was examining the machinery with a joyful expression. The woman was crouching next to one of the men with the giant hovering impatiently over her shoulder.

The woman looked like she was in her mid twenties. She had one hand at the man's throat and the other at his wrist, both as though to check a pulse. She had her eyes closed and looked as though she was in deep thought. Her dark green dress was very formal looking, though it seemed to give her enough room to move around freely. After a few seconds, she gave a disappointed sigh and opened her eyes so that her green eyes were visible. She stood up and fixed her light red hair, which was styled in a bob around her head. The clicking of her black heels echoed off the walls as she turned towards the other two.

"Well," the woman sighed, "that didn't help too much."

"Go now," the giant panicked. "Find Ava."

"Don't worry Adam," the woman comforted, "we'll find her."

"Wow," their companion exclaimed, "do yous say dis?"

He was gesturing enthusiastically at one of the generators.

"They mus have created dis on their own. Can give off enough energy to power de ship for a few days on its own."

"Good guess," Nemo mumbled under his breath, somewhat surprised.

"Will you come on, El" the woman said, rolling her eyes. "We need to find her before someone else does."

"Right," El agreed in a disappointed tone. "Any ideas on where to go next, Jas?"

The woman thought for a moment.

"Maybe finding someone of higher standing on the ship; we may be able to learn something from them."

"How about I give you a hand with that?"

El's rifle was suddenly whisked out of his hand and used to hit him in the head. El was knocked backwards a few steps but was able to prepare for the next strike and take the gun back.

"Skinner," mutter Mina, speaking what everyone thought.

With that, Tom drew his pistols and shot three bullets at the trio. While one bullet met its mark in the giant's shoulder, the other two were able to be detected and maneuvered around before any other harm could occur.

Adam turned and gave a loud roar toward his opponent. El drew his gun, though he was paying attention to the air around him more than the enemies that were to come. Their companion ran to hide behind the machinery.

"Don't worry, nothing can go wrong," Jas mimicked in El's accent. "We have the element of surprise on our side."

Tom was about to shoot again when Nemo stopped him. The machinery in the room was too valuable to risk it being hit.

"Any ideas," inquired Jekyll. He had left all of his vials in his room.

"Just one," Mina responded. With a loud growl, Mina ran towards Adam.


	8. Here We Go Again

The giant's roar rumbled with the turbines. The other members of the League watched as he and the vampiress fought. Adam swung any punch he could at her but Mina was always able to move gracefully out of the way.

El aimed his rifle at Mina as best he could. Aiming at a moving target, particularly one going at supernatural speeds, was bad enough. It didn't help that an invisible person nearby kept moving the barrel of the gun around.

Unfortunately, one of Skinner's jerks caused El to pull the trigger. The bullet sped through the air without hitting any one, but broke into one of the generator's circuits. It took a few seconds before another generator took over. It was enough time, however, for a piercing scream to echo throughout the Nautilus.

"What was that," Tom exclaimed.

"I don't know but it came from…" Jekyll started, beginning to point to the hallway the League had just come from, when he was pushed to the side.

The giant, after hearing the scream, had quickly knocked Mina to the side and ran in the direction of the scream.

"Hey, Adam," Jas yell after him, "wait for us!"

She and her companion ran as fast as they could to catch up. As soon as Mina stood back up, the League took off after them. When they finally caught up to the other group, the trio was in front of one of the Nautilus' janitorial closets, trying to coax something out. The trio didn't seem to notice that the League was hiding behind the corner.

"Hey, Skinner," Tom whispered, "you think you can see what's in there?"

"Let's find out," Skinner voiced back in a hushed tone.

What felt like hours passed as they waited for Skinner to report back. It was hard to guess what could be hiding in the closet. Adam was standing at the left side of door, making comforting sound, something between a pigeon coo and a cat's purr. Jas was in the center of the doorway, trying to convince the thing inside to come out. El was on the right side of the door, facing the corner where the League was hiding, keeping an eye out for anyone coming down the hall. His rifle at the ready and once or twice his glance fell upon various spots on the floor, but not one bullet was fired.

"Hey."

Everyone in the League jumped at the sound of Skinner's voice, though it was just a whisper. The shooter of the other group looked at the corner for a second but continued to check the rest of the hall.

"Easy there," Skinner half joked, "don't want to alert the Calvary."

"What did you discover," inquired Nemo. "Did you see what is in the closet?"

"Yeah, no doubt about it," Skinner replied. "Nothing else in this world has that much color."

The League looked toward the closet to see Adam taking the girl in the rainbow dress out of the closet. She looked far passed frightened as she cuddled up around his shoulder, holding onto the giant's neck like a young child would to their parent. Adam continued to make soothing noises. El dropped his guard to see is she was alright. Jas looked her over.

"She seems fine," Jas noted, "but we should probably get her back to the ship."

"I'm afraid we cannot allow that," Nemo spoke as he came out from behind the corner. The rest of the League joined him, each prepared for the fight that they all knew was coming.

"Thought there was someone there," El muttered.

He looked from his team to the other. The odds were clearly stacked in the League's favor. El looked about the room trying to think of something that would help. His eyes happened to glance up at the pipes on the ceiling.

El shot a bullet at the tubes above before anyone could react. The crack of the gun made the girl grip the giant's neck tighter and bury her face into his shoulder. The bullet broke one of the pipes and hot steam screeched out of it.

The League was startled for a second or so, but it was long enough for El and his group to get a good distance away. Since the steam reached only a few feet down, the League was able to quickly rush off after them. The other group ran down another section where some hallways met. Without taking a second to think, they took the hallway on their right.

"We'll get them now," Nemo commented. "That way leads to a dead end."

As the League turns around a corner, they stop, dumbfounded to what is in front of them.

"You might want to check your blueprints again," Skinner retorted.

The wall appeared to have been pried and kept open by three long poles, which were at the upper corners and at the bottom of the section. On the other side of the wall, instead of the ocean, was another room with metal walls. The League was about to investigate further when they heard a bullet wiz by their heads.

"Ya even try to enter," a voice threatened, "de next bullet goes through someone's head."

The voice had come from El, who had his gun aimed at the League. Adam had taken Ava through a door that led deeper into the area. On either side of El were the other two teammates, the woman the League had met in the church and the woman whom they had been chasing.

"We do not wish for trouble," Nemo mediated. "We simply did not wish to allow our vessel to be trespassed."

"And we simply wished to have one of our teammates returned to us," the woman from the church replied. "Though I must say it is nice to see you all again."

"You're known as Mrs. Keara, correct?" Mina inquired.

The woman did something between a bow and a curtsy. "I am honored that you remembered."

El fired a bullet in the left side of his view. The bullet went straight and met its mark in Skinner's left shoulder. The invisible man had been trying to sneak into the ship. Skinner took a few steps back in shock, giving Jekyll close enough get over him without having to worry about being shot. Though the damage didn't seem to be bad, the bullet was still inside the shoulder and it was hard to see what was nearby.

"Damn," El swore as he reloaded, "hate having to be a liar."

"It's not polite to swear when women are present," Jekyll said, half scolding.

Ms. Keara looked at him with a smirk. "The damn bastard can swear as much as he bloody wants to."

The expressions of every member of the League were mixtures of shock, disgust, and embarrassment. Jekyll, his own face turning pink, could hear Hyde laughing. Ms. Keara's teammates looked more annoyed.

"Really," the other woman sighed, "can you try being civilized for once?"

"Hmm…conform to society and be welcomed with all the other phonies," Ms. Keara mocked back, "or be myself and have fun as I run around the world."

"Be an improvement," El muttered, with his rifle still fixed on the League.

Right after this, a roaring sound, much like the rumbling of machinery, was heard.

"Sounds like de engines have kicked in," El observed, taking a few steps back. "I'm 'fraid dis is where we take our leave."

The poles that had been holding the walls began to fold up so that the walls were closing like doors. The League, except for Jekyll and Skinner, raced toward the entryway before the wall completely closed. Seeing this, Ms. Keara reached into a pocket of her dress and took out a glass ball. The orb was a little bit larger than a baseball and had what appeared to be smoke trapped inside. She threw this ball at the League, which shattered and released the vapors.

Despite being a small, the ball had contained enough smoke to fill the room in a haze. The smoke wrapped around the League, making Skinner easy to see. It caused coughing fits from everyone it reached. The League watched through the haze as the wall closed, leaving three cracks where it had been torn apart.

Even after the smoke had faded, the determination that the League felt was even greater than before. Without uttering a single word, they ran to the bridge of the ship. Jekyll's heart was pounding so loud that he was having a hard time hearing Hyde's comments about the other group, though knowing Hyde this was probably a good thing.

As soon as they got there, the League could see the other ship in front of them.

"They're making for the surface," Jekyll observed, gripping the side of the table so hard his knuckle were almost white. His heart was still pounding from all the running.

"Then we shall catch them," Nemo growled.

The engines on the Nautilus were heard squealing as Nemo ordered the crew to have the ship go forward full. The other ship may have been smaller and lighter, but Nautilus had more power and was going to reach them. At about twenty meters below the surface, the other ship opened some sections on its sides and produced some large fins. Though this did make the ship look cooler, it also slowed it down.

"What are they doing," remarked Skinner, who had become invisible again once he had left the smoke.

No one responded as everyone watched the other ship reach the surface just seconds before the Nautilus. As soon as the Nautilus surfaced, the wave of shock flowed through the bridge.

"Should they still be rising," Skinner asked, joking slightly.

After reaching the surface, the other ship had activated rockets and continued to ascend to the clouds.

Taking only a second to think, the League rushed to the outside platform of the ship. There was nothing to be seen but the starry sky above them. They searched the sky as hard as they could, but the ship had disappeared.

Except for Skinner, every member of the League showed extreme signs of anger and annoyance. Mina was scanning the skies with a look of bloodlust. Nemo was squeezing the railing so hard that it wouldn't have been surprising it became misshaped. Tom had smashed his fist against the side of the ship, not noting any pain that had come with it. Jekyll was gripping his head, almost pulling out his hair. Skinner stopped looking at the sky and casted worried glances toward his teammates.

Within a few seconds of being on the platform, Skinner watched as everyone appeared to calm down. Mina shook her head as she got control of her vampiric instincts. Nemo's grasp on the rail loosened slowly. Tom began to clutch his hand; the realization of agony finally reaching his brain. Jekyll backed into the wall and skid down it as he collapsed on the floor.

As Jekyll's heart stopped pounding inside his head, he began to hear Hyde again.

_You certainly had some interesting reactions there._

Jekyll was too exhausted to even think of a response. He rested his head against the wall behind him and closed his eyes, not quite sleeping but still getting a good rest. The other three seemed to be drained as well. Skinner called for some of the crew below, who came as soon as they heard the summons. With their help, Skinner got his teammates to bed before getting to his own. Everyone fell asleep as soon as they hit their pillows.


	9. What Now?

On his ship, El sat quietly in front of a roaring furnace. It was his turn to make sure it didn't go out. The flames sent shadows crawling to various parts of the room, giving the pipes in the room a dark hue. The table next to him was cluttered with papers, maps, and a number of different reference books.

Normally, El would be spending his time designing and creating new marvels like his flying ship. Had he time, the vessel that they had just left would have been a welcome puzzle. His focus, however, was on the people who seemed to call the craft home.

He had heard of this League that his group had faced twice now. No doubt their previous employers had hired the team to catch them all. Given the circumstances, he considered the honor of it all. Before leaving, his superiors would never have thought to send a team of such capable individuals to chase after a group led by, in their words, "a dark savage."

They had not even tried to remember his name, calling him 'you there' or any other form of degrading title. Anger surged through him as the memory of a not too distant past.

The emotion was interrupted as he heard someone walk in. He looked over to see Jas standing amongst the dark flickering. Her eye showed a hint of concern but seemed to know better than to ask.

"How she doin'," he asked, looking back at the fire.

"She's acting more like herself," Jas reported, "but she has been told to get more rest."

"Dat's good," El confirmed. He paused for a moment before saying something. "We able to learn anything from earlier?"

"Some names, maybe a few places. I think that's it though."

The dark man pondered this for some time. The only thing that pierced the silence was the crackles from the furnace. "Any advice?"

Jas closed her eyes and spoke in an almost lost tone. "The course to action starts with setting up the sails."

Somewhat annoyed, El stood up and walked around the room. The room only allowed him to walk about twenty steps before he had to turn around. After a short while, he stopped. Quickly going back to the map, he scanned it before pointing out a spot in Southern Asia.

"Get everyone set," he commanded. "We have our next location."

On the Nautilus, everyone sat quietly as they ate their breakfast, dressed as they would on any normal day. The quiet of the room was hanging like a balloon that they feared to pop. They all had the same thoughts running through their heads but were at a lose on how to start. After he finished peeling of his hardboiled egg, Skinner broke the silence.

"So, what happened to you all earlier?"

The rest of the table sat as they heard the question echo on the walls. The table looked as though time had paused. Jekyll was in mid-sip of his morning tea. Tom had a spoon full of oatmeal hanging from his mouth. Nemo practically chocked on the bite of the curried fish he was eating. Mina had cut through the skin of her grapefruit, which had it leak its deep red juice.

"I can't say for certain," Tom responded after swallowing. "It was like someone took every emotion I was feeling at the time, concentrated it, bottle it up, and let it explode inside me."

"I must agree with young Sawyer," Nemo confirmed. "All I could think of was that we must catch the people who had boarded my precious Nautilus."

"I couldn't even hear Hyde," Jekyll recalled. He heard Hyde's cruel laugh in the back of his head before the statement was finished.

_You're not regretting that, are you Henry?_

"There is only thing I have to wonder," Mina stated, continuing to eat her breakfast. She didn't know if she even needed food but it help control her vampiric instinct to feed and made her feel less like a monster. "Why is it that Skinner was the only one unaffected?"

"Wish I could tell ya," Skinner answered through a mouthful of egg. "It was kinda scary watching you all act like you did."

That was the end of the conversation. One by one, they each left the table.


	10. A Healing Hand

Mina worked at her chemistry set, trying to see if she could discover what those vapors were. She was lucky enough to find a small amount stuck inside the Nautilus' air tanks before Nemo had them refilled.

Nemo had been very anxious in observing his lady's repairs. The idea of being boarded was unnerving for the captain. He immediately sent telegrams out to whomever could be thought of to try to track the perpetrators down.

A knock came from her door as she jotted down the conclusions of her latest experiment. After some quick tiding, Mina calmly opened the door.

"Hey, Mina." Tom stood in the doorway, obviously relieved to see vampire.

"Good evening." Mina opened the door wider. "Is there something I can help you with?"

"Actually," Tom started as he glanced at his injured hand, "I remembered how you took care of Nemo's men before and I was wondering…"

"Certainly." The door was opened fully to allow her guest to come in. Luckily, some ice had been needed for her experiments. Placing some in a cloth, Mina had Tom keep his hand cold. Her patient quietly sat down on the bed and waited for Mina to get other supplies.

"I'm surprised you didn't go to Jekyll," Mina commented. She set down everything she had gathered on the covers before sitting down herself and getting to work.

"And give up on an excuse to see you?" They both smirked at his coy charm. "Besides, he's too busy with other stuff."

"Is he still taking care of Skinner?"

"No." Tom winced slightly as Mina checked his hand for any unseen injuries. "Skinner's doing better but some of Nemo's men have been complaining about headaches and strange hallucinations."

"Curious, I wonder if the gas had something to do with it." Mina barely looked up, concentrating on wrapping the bandage around the hand.

"I don't know. We were affected by that stuff and we didn't have those problems."

"Well, at least your hand doesn't look too bad," Mina said as she finished fastening the cloth, "Though I would give it some rest for a week or so."

"No more punching walls then, huh?" The joke brightened up the serious mood that had been filling the air.

There was a tap at the door followed by a polite cough.

"Excuse me." They both turned to see Jekyll standing in the doorway. "Nemo would like to see everyone to decide on what to do next."

"Thank you Jekyll. We'll be right there."

"Well then…" Clicking was heard as Jekyll started to fiddle with his pocket watch. "… I'll go let him know."

The doctor left, leave the couple worrying if something was wrong.


	11. Mystics in the Fog

Sorry if this took too long. Usually disclaimer: I own nothing, not even the new setting. William Shakespeare gets the credit there.

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><p>As Tom's hand healed, more and more sightings were plotted across Nemo's map. The latest one had sent the League trekking though the forests of Scotland. The other ship had been spotted flying toward one of the country's abandoned castles. The locals told tales of ghosts and other strange occurrences that had happened after the king of the castle, a tyrant, had been overthrown. This still didn't stop the League from trying to get to it.<p>

The tree groaned a bit as Tom moved one of its branches aside and helped Mina, Jekyll, and Skinner. He was surprised at how well Jekyll had kept his suit intact and tidy during the trip. Once Skinner gave mutter of thanks, since it was hard to tell where the invisible man was without his cloths, branch was allowed to snap back into place. Leading the group through the woods, Nemo was working on cutting a branch that was in his way. One of his men held a lantern quietly behind him. There were a total of five sailors who had joined the expedition. Tom walked at the end of the lineup, his rifle ready for anything that would pose a problem for the group.

"There's a mist coming in," he heard Nemo say. "Make sure to stick together."

A fog had already begun to roll in, which was so thick it became difficult for Tom to see the trees as he continued walking. Good thing the lantern was give light up ahead or he'd easily have gotten lost. After a while, Tom realized that source of the light was not moving and the trees were getting bigger more clearly now, for they had gotten bigger.

A few minutes later, Tom found himself in front of a small clearing. The fog in the area seemed to have lifted slightly so that he could make out most of what was in front of him. The clearing was almost circular and free from most vegetation. The only thing that seemed foreign to the area was a small fire in the center.

As he walked forward slightly, Tom began to hear a loud cackling. Looking around, he finally spotted three figures hidden in the mist on the other side of the clearing. He was able to get a better look as they moved closer. They were three old women, the kind that made you think of a dried up corpse.

The women approached slowly, almost sliding along the ground. Once Tom had been creeped out enough, he started to aim his rifle. He shot one bullet into the ground by the fire as a warning not to come any closer. The women all calmly stopped and looked toward Tom. When they finally did speak, their voices were just as cracked and disturbing. The women spoke in a round, so that one started talking as soon as another stopped.

"Look, dear sisters, at what is here."

"A young lad to the brim with fear."

"In the woods rather late."

"Along with others who go towards their fate."

Tom did an unconscious shutter at this remark. The women seemed to take this a good opportunity to get to the center of the clearing. The discussion continued its round as the third woman spoke.

"What should we give to this passerby?"

"We work together for a prophecy," all the women croaked together.

The women started cackling again as they made a triangle around the fire. They then began to do a strange dance around it. Tom had an idea that he should get away as fast as he could but he was filled with so much curiosity and fear that his brain couldn't send any messages to the rest of his body. After they had circled the fire, the women began to continue speaking in a round, the other two chanting in some strange language while the third was talking.

"Two names called in the shell of one,"

"Due to a tragedy that cannot be undone."

"Though a time will come that will lessen the cost,"

"If not ready for the challenge, then their gift will be lost.

"All will occur on this quest for the bold and brave,"

"While you find something that leads to a friend's grave."

"A friend's grave," Tom repeated in horror as the women began to cackle again. "What do you mean by that?"

The fog started to roll back around the women. It became harder to see them but it seemed that the cackling echoed louder.

"WAIT," Tom cried as he ran toward the cackling.

The echoes quickly began to die down. After a few steps he tripped on a root. By the time he stood up, the women and their laughter had been swallowed up by the fog. Tom strained his eyes as he searched. Suddenly, he spotted a gleam of light coming towards him.

Tom didn't move, not sure of what to do. He started to hear a soft cry in the distance as a figure began to take shape in the light. After a while, Tom recognized that it was his own name being called.

"Tom, Tom…There you are."

Mina ran up and hugged Tom, who took a moment to realize who it was before returning the embrace. She looked like she had been worrying. He could feel the warmth of the lantern in her hand against his side.

"We thought you were right behind us when we heard the gun shot. Since I have better vision during these times, the others went on ahead while I came to find you. What happened?"

Tom broke off for a moment to look around. Mina raised the lantern higher so she could do the same. The woods were quiet and nothing but only the trees could be seen in the light.

"I guess it was just my eyes playing tricks on me," Tom finally said. As he took the lantern from Mina, he gave her one of his kiddish smiles. "Would you care to take a walk with me?"

"Certainly," Mina replied.

Tom walked ahead, in the direction Mina had come from. Mina went to follow him when she noticed something about the ground at her feet. She knelt down to examine a small hole and dug out a bullet. It had gone in at a slight angle. When she took a glance to the direction the bullet had come from, she didn't see anything there.

"Everything alright," Tom asked as he turned back when he realized Mina wasn't following.

"I think so," she responded as she pocketed the bullet.

"Good," Tom smiled, "I don't think I could get far without you."

Mina walked over and took his hand. Not even the fog could dampen the moment between them.

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><p>Happy Halloween!<p> 


	12. Storming the Castle

It's been a while since I updated this story, sorry about that. So to recap, I own nothing except for the characters the League's going after. And ACTION!

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><p>Skinner sighed quietly as he began to zone out. There wasn't really anything important going on anyway. The League, with the exception of Mina and Tom, had found spot about ten feet from the castle and were spending the time waiting for their other teammates to catch up by going over plan…again. There weren't a lot of maps to be found on the castle, if torn pieces of parchment so faded you could barely tell which end was North could be called maps.<p>

There was a small rustling from the nearby bushes before Tom and Mina rejoined them.

'_Bout time._ Skinner thought to himself. It wasn't exactly comfortable sitting butt-naked on a pile of twigs and wet leaves. Not that he was complaining. This was nothing compared to the blistering cold of Mongolia or even the heat of…

Skinner did an involuntary shudder at the memory. The rest of the League was too busy briefing each other to notice. Tom had finished saying that something along the lines of shooting at a figment from his head. As truthful as the boy was, Skinner felt that there was something off about it.

Once everyone was ready to get going again, they proceeded towards the castle. The main gateway had rusted away. The inside didn't look much better. Years of neglect showed in every corner. The League walked quietly as they passed through one of the doors.

The halls were worse than the outside. There was no light except for what could seep through the faint cracks in the walls. The worn and mildewed tapestries, that had once decorated the walls with glory, added to the gloom that lay around. It didn't help when one of the members gave out a shriek.

"SKINNER," growled Mina as she turned to face where she heard him. If he could be seen, everyone would have seen his face was as white as the greasepaint he usually wore.

"Y-y-you d-didn't see that," the frightened man stammered. He could feel his leg quaking as he used a nearby wall for support, leaving a handprint in the dust.

"See what," Tom inquired, debating whether or not the event in the woods should be made known to the League.

"That head…" Skinner practically yelled, forgetting to lower his volume. "That bloody head that just floated by."

"Get a hold of yourself," Nemo scolded quietly. "Think now. If there was a severed head floating around at all, wouldn't someone else have seen it as well?"

"Well… ahh… yes, but… I swear I saw..."

"The dark was probably playing tricks on you," Jekyll comforted. "I could have sworn a knife was hovering at the end of one of the hallways we passed."

"Yeah, maybe," the invisible man agree, still slightly shaken.

After a few seconds of silence, which when mixed with the Skinner's outburst made the atmosphere even more eerie, the League turned around a corner to face a large door. Light leaked through the edges and the cracks that had made their way through the rotten wood. Everyone paused, waiting to see who would be first to see what was on the other side.

"This is ridiculous," Mina quietly growled after some time. The door was thrown opened almost as soon the sentence was finished.

The door led to the second story of an enclosed area. The tops of some of the walls had crumbled apart. In the center of the other side were the remains of a gallows. The courtyard was about twenty by thirty feet and, except for a rectangle about the size for a person to lie down in, was completely covered in the shadows of the walls that surrounded it. A pair of large double doors, though only half a door remained currently, could be seen at one of the walls. Three figures sat on the rubble that had fallen in. They were El, Ms. Keara, and Adam.

_Great, now I can REALLY show that pipsqueak whose boss._

The bloodlust in Hyde's voice made Jekyll shiver. Things rarely ended well when that tone was heard. Jekyll ignored the comment as he focused on the people below.

El had taken off his hat and outer jacket, though they weren't around, so that simply his white undershirt and pants was worn. He was fiddling with some small metal box while his rifle lay on the rock he was leaning on. Ms. Keara was on the other side, trying to comfort their companion.

"I'm sure everything will be just fine, Adam," she said. "I think she's just shaky from that scare she got on that other ship."

"Yes, but we all know how far your knowledge of such things goes."

This comment received a firm glare as everyone look towards the doors. The voice had come from the woman that had been in the engine room of the Nautilus, Jas if Jekyll was remembered correctly.

"Just tell us how Ava is," Ms. Keara spat out as their large companion nod vigorously in agreement.

El went back to fiddling with his box. Jas gave a heavy sigh before starting.

"She's fine, still rambling about the woman falling from a none-existent tower, but fine none the less. Rest is the best thing for her at the moment."

"I still think we should look into it," Ms. Keara said. "Whatever it was really scared her."

"Ava is always one to over react," the other female pointed out.

"But never so much to scream like that," the older woman barked back before she started to massage her temples. "This is not helping my headache. The mist alone was bad enough."

"Is there anything that doesn't make your head hurt," Jas complained loudly.

"Sitting quietly doing my work, if you **must** know," snapped back the response.

"Good…goood…" El stated. He had apparently stopped listening after the status report. "Got et!"

Everyone in the room immediately turned to look at the newly ecstatic man as he raised the box above his head.

"Dis is going to make our lives much easier," he laughed as he pushed some buttons on various sides of the box. "Watch dis."

The box was placed in the center of the room. All, except for the proud creator, watched in awe as it began to produce faint beeps. Suddenly, the new device began to shake.

"Is that supposed to be happening," Jas asked as she looked over to a now nervous El.

"Ah oh," shook out of Adam's throat.

"I agree with you on that one," Ms. Keara added in.

By this time, the box was making blasting noises so loud that even the League had to cover their ears.

"Oh my…" the frightened inventor started. "Get down!"

The warning came just in time as the device burst into flames. After the fire quickly expired, smoke bellowed from the broken circuitry. El walked over to the scene with a look of mournful expression. As the maker examined the remains, his face became that of frustration.

"Tenth prototype and still goes wrong," El muttered angrily. He gave a quick sigh before standing up to watch the smoke rise. It seemed to relax him. "Well, back to de drawing board."

He followed the smoke trail all the way to the seconded floor, where he stopped to try to peer at something on the other side. It took the League a few seconds to figure out what was staring at being stared at.

"We've been spotted," Mina exclaimed as she drew her daggers. This was at the same time as the inventor began to bark orders to his companions. Jas quickly exited through the way she had made her entrance from a few seconds earlier.

"Skinner, you think you can follow her," Mina inquired in a commanding tone.

"Sure, sweets," the invisible man replied, earning a glare from her already red eyes. "I don't suppose I'll get some help, now will I?"

"Nemo…" the vampire began as Nemo signaled for his men to follow him. She then looked to see Tom cock his gun and Jekyll start opening a vial. With everything was in order, Mina jumped down to the ground below.

By this time, the smoke had cleared so that it was easier for enemies to see one another. El had already grabbed his rifle and had it at the ready. Adam stood close by, his eyes watching for any movement. Ms. Keara fixed her hair as she grumble in an irked manner.

"First that damn mist, then her. Now we have to deal with these bloody guys again."

"You'd think they didn't want to see us," Tom asked playfully.

"Shut up," Ms. Keara snapped before taking on a more inquiring tone. "Actually, maybe you can help settle something. Can one of you actually…"

Her sentence was cutoff as Jekyll transformed into Hyde. He jumped down to join the fight, smirking at the sight of horror that appeared upon the woman's face. She seemed to have forgotten all about that headache of hers.

"We…are…dead" she managed to say. "Did you see that? He grew into that…that…thing!"

Hyde rolled his eyes as she continued rambling. It was not like this hadn't all been said before. He slapped her with the back of his hand to get her to shut up. It had enough force to throw her back against the stone wall. To his surprise, she quietly, but slowly, pulled herself back to her feet.

"Ugg…" she moaned with a shake of her head, "I guess that answers that question."

"We cin settle dat later," El yelled as he got his gun aimed at Mina's head. "Right now, we have bigger problems."

This move was matched by Adam tackling Hyde. Hyde slide back a few feet before picking up the giant and sending him crashing through a nearby wall.

"Not today you don't" Hyde chuckled as he started to go through the new doorway. "This is MY fight."

Mina had used the distraction to leap behind the gunman. The third enemy was still a bit dazed from being smashed into the wall. Tom was watching everything from above, reading to pull the trigger when needed. Empathy seized his heart as crashes were heard from the hole.

Hyde tossed the pillar he had just used as a bat. His foe was getting slowly up off his back some-odd feet away. Distance didn't really matter now. That runt was learning an important lesson: NEVER mess with Edward Hyde.

Jekyll hadn't said one word since the transformation. Not that Hyde was complaining. That wimp always tried to spoil his fun. Probably was cowering somewhere, fearing what his better half would do next.

The figure stumbled a bit once he had gotten back on his feet. He then coughed into his hand. Hyde jeered as some blood appeared. Adam stared at his hand for a few seconds, looking worried. To Hyde's annoyance, the blood was wiped off and the giant turned back towards the other man.

_He's determined_, Hyde heard Jekyll state, _you have to give him points for that._

As much as Hyde disliked agreeing, this wasn't a game at one of London's country clubs. This was winner-take-all and, unfortunately for that determined sap, Hyde didn't feel like taking second place.

Skinner flinched slightly as another loud crash was heard. He was following the woman in front of him very carefully. Nemo and his men were some distance behind him now, hopefully following the markers that the invisible man was leaving. Luckily, the fighting was also shaking the building, so she was slowing down enough for the others to catch up at some point.

_Hyde must be having a heyday_, Skinner thought as the building shook again.

Skinner was lead around another corner but this time she stopped at a door. Peering in the room, he could see another small courtyard. Some pillars held up the remains of the roof. The strange machine he had seen from the Nautilus was standing in the center of the room.

Jas approached it and touched a certain spot on its wall. A door opened from its side and a ramp was let out. The invisible man debated whether or not to follow her into the flying vehicle. The choice was made for him as the ramp and door closed back up again without leaving a single trace of their existence. Nemo would be dying to take that whole thing apart.

The ship wouldn't be the only thing taken apart. If the battle continued as it was, Mina would personally start tearing something to pieces. Ms. Keara had gotten out of her daze in time to help El out. Now, the latter was trying to shoot at Tom while the woman did whatever she could to keep the vampire from coming too close to her partner. This mostly consisted of throwing rocks, yelling, or occasionally getting in close enough strike. It was all really beginning to get on Mina's nerves.

Tom was hiding against the wall so he could reload his rifle. He could hear Mina growling below. Things were going to get very messy if he didn't get back in soon. A small click of his gun and he was ready.

Tom listened carefully to the bullets that hit the wall. Once all the rounds had been fired, he went back to the edge and started firing. His lessons from Quatermain payed off as both of his bullets met their mark: one hitting the man's wrist while the other found its way into Ms. Keara's thigh. The woman clasped her leg as the other rifle almost fell to the floor.

The distraction gave Mina a chance to get close to her male enemy and get the rifle away from him. She tossed it up to Tom before turning her attention back to the duo. El was inching toward the door, with Ms. Keara staggering not far behind.

"Dat's de second rifle you owe may now," El said as though to somehow convince everyone in the room that he was in charge of the situation.

Determined not to let them escape, Mina threw one of her daggers in order to pin the man to the wall. In a flash, the knife was caught when it was an inch away from cutting El's shirt. Ms. Keara almost immediately dropped the weapon as it made a deep cut into her hand.

The shock of what just happen is interrupted as something crashes through another wall. Hyde growled as he stood up. A shadow slowly appeared in the newly made hole as Adam stumbled in. Though Hyde was covered with a few cuts and bruises, the giant appeared to be very injured and was even walking with a limp.

Glaring at the weaker man, Hyde grabbed a nearby boulder and chucked it. The rock was just barely dodged as it crashed into the wall. The force of the impact was enough for Tom to lose his footing and start falling down to the floor below. Mina quickly saw this and was able to race over to catch him.

The loud sound of tumbling rocks caused both of the League members to turn their attention back in time to see a large figure disappear through the double doors. Hyde growled as he climbed out to the newest part of the castle's renovations.

"…Lucky little shit…"

"Are you alright," Mina asked.

"Yeah, fine. Now let's go before they get to far ahead."

"A most peculiar vessel."

Nemo was looking over the other team's ship. He and his men were checking everywhere to try to find the doorway Skinner had mentioned. Skinner was being of little help, saying that he saw it at one spot before being certain it was actually somewhere entirely different.

What was the most curious was that, though it wasn't as elaborate as the Nautilus, there was a good deal of care put into the design of the exterior. Various dents and carefully placed weldings made it seem that any spot could be an opening. This, as one of his men was quite literally shocked to find out, was not the case. The crewmember had tried to pry a curious spot open with a knife he had been carrying. Within a matter of seconds, the smell of something burnt filled the air and the man collapsed on the floor.

The observations were interrupted as voices began to be heard from the door behind them.

"Which way now," a woman's voice inquired between puffs. "You need to get to Jas soon."

"_I_ need to…" a man's voice remarked. "You de one running with a bullet in yur leg."

"Either way we need to find the ship."

"If I'm right, et should bay right through…"

The door opened to let Ms. Keara and El into the room.

"…You've gotta bay kiddin' may."

Both of them looked worn out and a bit annoyed. The expression on El's face changed to a smug grin as he spied the crewmember lying on the floor.

"Havin' a hard time finding de doorbell, are we?"

His teammate rolled her eyes as she tore off the hem of her dress and began to wrap it around her bleeding hand. Nemo drew his sword and motioned for his men to follow suit.

"Does the death of one of my men amuse you?"

"Seein' as yous tried to break into my ship," El countered, "yes-yes et does."

"Can we quit the banter and skip to punching each other," Ms. Keara comment as she gave the bandage a final tug.

"I agree." A crack was heard as El reeled back. As he stood up, he gripped the jaw an invisible hand had just hit. Before the woman could try to help, her injured hand was raised above her head.

"Right," she muttered, "forgotten about you."

"This better?" Skinner asked coyly.

"Actually…" Ms. Keara twisted her hand around, grabbed her foe's wrist, and swung her arm so that a loud thud was heard and dirt on the floor puffed up. An imprint of someone's back could be seen once the cloud settled. "…much."

The doors nearly hit her as they swing open to allow the other members of the League into the room. Tom had his rifle at the ready while Mina welded her daggers. Hyde was right behind them, quickly scanning the room.

"Where's that worm?!"

"Underground I would think," Ms. Keara replied as she backed away slowly. "Isn't that where worms normally hide?"

Hyde glared at the frightened woman, possibly already plotting the tortures that awaited her. Tom rearranged himself so that El was the target. With the enemies in the room apprehended, Mina's attention turned toward the ship.

"Have you found a way inside," she asked as she put one of her daggers away.

"Not quite, Mr. Skinner saw an entrance but," Nemo motioned to his fallen crewmember, "there appears to be a defense system."

Mina approached the body slowly, kneeling down to take a closer look. She reached down to touch it, immediately jumping back with a small cry of pain. Tom's eyes snapped to the scene as the sound of the dagger clattering on the ground echoed through the room.

Seeing his chance, El quickly jumped towards Tom and made a grab for the rifle. Tom gave a small gasp of pain and surprise as his back hit the floor, but still managed to keep his grip. Hyde watched amusedly as each of the men are tumbling on top of each other, fighting to gain possession of the weapon. No one noticed something is dropped by Tom and is somehow kicked over to Ms. Keara's feet. At least not until Skinner made a note of it.

"My Gawd, she's got a gun."

Tom diverted his attention from keeping the rifle at El's throat long enough to see one of his pistols being aimed at his head, in a rather clumsy manner. The man on the bottom moved just enough to see what's going on without being suffocated, his eyes nearly popping out when realization hits.

"Hey-HEY! Put de pistol down. No…no, don't…"

The crack of bullet drowned out the rest of the warning. No one moved, waiting to see where the bullet went. Within a few seconds, the dirt between her feet shifted slightly.

After grasping what happened, Hyde backhanded the Annie Oakley wannabe, skidding her backwards again. Metal clangs flooded the room as Ms. Keara crashed into the ship. Almost on cue, gears are heard grinding from within as a section of metal wall begins to move.

"What's all that noise abo…?"

A red-haired woman squeezed her eyes shut, as though hoping it would make everyone disappear. Cracking one eye open revealed that it didn't work. She leaned up against one of the wall on the inside. One of Nemo's sailors ran quickly to get inside before they were sealed out again.

Ms. Keara, spotting this, quickly turned to face him, the gun barrel merely inches from his chest. A swift pull of the trigger bombarded the room with echoes. Seconds faded with the sound before the crewmember pated himself down to check for life.

"You missed." Jas' mouth dropped in absolute astonishment. "He was close enough to breathe on you and you MISSED! Anything you shoot a-"

Her voice creaked as the pistol faces her. Another bullet sped out. The crewmember behind her paused for a brief moment, only to collapse beside his companion. Strange noises erupted from the auburn's mouth before her tongue began to form words.

"ARE YOU CRAZY?!"

"Apparently so." Mina grabbed the armed woman by her hand, causing the gun to clatter to the ground. "Nemo, I believe you and your men can search the ship now."

"They're doing WHAT?!"

Tom watched as the eyes of the man below him gained a furious glow. Before he could register what had happened, Tom found himself on his back with a sore head and, more importantly, without his rifle.

Nemo stopped as a bullet cut the threads of his turbine. The second bullet struck Mina in the wrist, forcing her to release her grip. Without a second thought, Nemo and his men charged toward the rifle-shooter.

Over his original amusement, Hyde decided it was about time to get back into the action. The first person on his death list was that idiot who shot Mina. He was busy reloading the gun anyway and Nemo's men couldn't get all the fun.

One hard punch to the ground sent the African to his knees. A number of undistinguishable words spat from the man's mouth as his cartridges rolled off.

More curses filled the room as Ms. Keara jumped off the heads of Nemo's men to take her place next to El. The pistol was shining in her hand once more. Without another word, the two teammates trade weapons.

Hyde wasn't going to stand around like the idiot sailors rubbing their head. He was just inches behind the duo and craving to rip something apart. Sticking with what worked, Hyde raised his hand. This time, the woman was not only able to push her teammate out of the way but also jumped onto and off the larger man's hand. The blunt end of the rifle was raised far above her head. A violent crack echoed through the evil menace's head when the wood shattered. A howl of annoyance ripped from Hyde's throat. He threw more punches, each being avoided by mere inches.

A cry of frustration from the direction of the ship got Tom out of the daze he had been in. The American stood up as quickly as he could, cradling his head during change of elevation. The vampire was running toward the ship. Though the other woman had run inside and left the path behind her wide open, Mina couldn't get a foot on the ramp without tumbling backwards.

His head throbbed as a bullet flew right passed his ear. Tom was only just able to make out someone rushing passed him. The African shooter took one glance back before continuing towards his ship.

El reached his ship before Mina could get back up. A swift kick sent Mina rolling farther away from out farther. Through her haze, she could see the ramp beginning to close.

More grunts were heard as Ms. Keara hopped over more heads. The remains of the rifle were tossed on to the stumbling Mina, really pissing off the vampire. The mortal just barely climbed inside before gap got too closed for anyone to get in. By the time Mina had stood up and got her bearings, there wasn't even enough room for one of her bats. That didn't keep her from trying to reaching up to force it open.

"I won't stick around fa too long if I was ya." Mina growled at the comment as her fingertips just brushed against the closing ramp. She stopped long enough to hear a strange rumbling coming from the ship. Years of chemistry and vampiric instinct led her to act fast.

"Run!" was the only warning given. Only Mina's supernatural speed saved her from being burned alive by the flames emitting from some parts of the ship. The smell of soot and charcoal spread throughout the room, joined with the putridicity of burning flesh and horrid screams as one of the crew members tripped. All of the destruction from Hyde's fighting took their toll as walls collapse and tumble.

A jet of fire broke apart the doorframe just as Hyde reached it. Catching it on his shoulder, he could feel not only the pressure of the frame but also of the floors and structure above it as well. It didn't help that a familiar pain erupted from the pit of his stomach.

"Get going!" Hyde raised the bricks higher.

Everyone dashed past, Mina the only one who paused for a moment. The only one who could tell what was happening. Words that formed on her tongue were pushed back when Hyde grimaced.

"Just shut up and run!"

A firm nod was the last he saw before Mina races off to join the others. Just in time too. Hyde let out a cry of pain as his body contorted. His arms began to give out under the weight of the arch.

The rest of the League watched as rubble blocks the flames and closed off the room. All waited almost expectantly, except a sulking Mina. The wave of realization flowed through slowly. Tom rushed over to Mina, comforting her as best he could. Nemo glanced soberly over to the only surviving crew member. A respectful silence followed them all the way back to the Nautilus.

Jekyll glanced over to the wall of rocks to his left. He had finished changing back but pain was still coursing through his body. Every part except for his head and right arm was covered in rubble. A black trail of scorch marks lead up to the burn mark on his bare arm.

"Bravo Edward." The phrase was barely audible to himself.

_Yeah yeah, _his inner evil replied. _Obviously been hanging around you too much, you pansy._

The good doctor chuckled at the comment. The sun began to go behind the edge of the edge of the skylight. The dimming light had a sort of calming effect. Shadows fell over Jekyll as he drifted off into blackness.


	13. Seeking Hyde

Sorry this took so long. And that's it's so short. I've got more on the way so your patience will be rewarded. Thank you.

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><p><strong>Chapter 9: Seeking Hyde<strong>

The castle walls looked rather depressing as the sunlight flooded in. Skinner shuttered as he followed the soot trail rise above his head. They had come back to the castle to search and gather. Clues for where to next sure, but mostly to get Jekyll out. Everyone on the ship agreed he deserved a proper burial.

Tom had stayed on the ship to comfort Mina. The doctor's death had really upset her. Though the thief had never seen any signs of romance, the two both had had their own demons to face daily. To lose the one person who understood that must be more painful than anyone could imagine.

Nemo stood in the distance. His men were digging out the doorway carefully. Rocks had tumbled when they had blasted their way in, a third was not needed. The captain wasn't really focused on that.

One of his men had found that mysterious cube from before. Despite the fighting and flames, it had stayed in one piece. The engineer in him quivered with wonder of what the device was supposed to.

"Captain!"

His first mate Patel ran up to Nemo before giving a quick salute.

"There appears to be a problem."

Nemo took a more commanding position: head high, chest out, and hands behind his back. Skinner moved over to listen in, mocking Nemo's position.

"Report."

"We cleared the rubble in front of the door…"

Skinner gave an invisible scowl. "If the rocks're clear, wot's the problem?"

Patel stumble as he tried to find the right way to phrase it. "Well… you see sir… he's not there."

Both League members needed a second. Seeing their puzzlement, Patel continued.

"We cleared every rock and pebble, but Dr. Jekyll is nowhere to be found."


End file.
